Author Archives: nandan

Conference on Coca-Cola Mehdiganj

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On March 28th, Amanda and I headed to Mehndiganj. We arrived to find a bustling conference in full swing, with over 500 attendees present. The atmosphere was lively, with a musical group performing folk songs about the Coke issue. I had seen these performers before and always enjoyed their music, so despite the noise, I found the experience enjoyable. Lok Samiti was inaugurating a new pond in Mehndiganj, and most people were attending that event. We went to the inauguration site, which was about 2 kilometers away from the conference venue.

By the time we arrived, the inauguration was over, but we managed to catch the tail end of the celebrations. Nandlal Master, Sandeep Pandey, and other social workers were distributing sweets to the villagers. I missed the ceremony itself but took plenty of pictures. While there, I met Anurag, Sandeep Pandey’s cousin who was working with ASHA. He was enthusiastic and wanted to engage with everyone. I also met Mr. Rajiv from New Jersey, a friendly member of ASHA. Amanda wanted to conduct interviews, but due to the noisy environment, we decided to focus on recording the speeches for the day instead.

Lunch was provided by Lok Samiti, and we joined about a thousand other people for the meal. Amanda and Dave were both offered food repeatedly. Dave was thrilled with the Indian food and ate everything, while Amanda left some of her food, as was her habit. After lunch, we returned to the conference. It was Dave’s turn to speak, and Anurag translated his speech. Although the translation wasn’t perfect, it sufficed. Dave spoke about a river in the U.S. that had caught fire due to heavy pollution, which made me think about the future of the Ganga.

He highlighted the importance of wetlands and the need for government intervention in environmental issues. I agreed with his points and appreciated his thoughtful speech. Following Dave, many other social workers gave speeches. One speaker from South India, who initially claimed he couldn’t speak Hindi and would give his speech in English, surprised everyone. He began in English but soon switched to fluent Hindi. I wondered why he chose to speak English initially, given that the audience was predominantly local villagers who did not understand English. It seemed he might have been trying to reach out to the few foreigners present, which felt misplaced given the context.

Reflecting on my previous experience in Mehndiganj, I remembered a cultural program organized by Lok Samiti about seven months earlier. During that event, when a guest from London was introduced, the villagers showed limited understanding of international geography. Some villagers debated whether London was far from Lucknow or close to Delhi, revealing their limited exposure to global locations. This incident underscored the lack of broader knowledge among the villagers, highlighting that the South Indian speaker’s attempt to address foreigners instead of focusing on the local audience was misguided.

The day ended with another folk song performance, and by the end of March 28th, we wrapped up our activities and headed home. The conference had been a mix of engaging moments and moments of disconnect, but it was an experience full of insights into the local dynamics and challenges.

Conference on Biology at BHU

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I had a tenant named Dave staying with me. He was a biologist from Fresno, California. Dave was invited to speak at a world environment conference at BHU, scheduled for on March 28, 2008. I accompanied him, along with my friend Amanda from the USA, who was conducting research on the history of Coke in India. I was assisting Amanda as a translator. We all went to BHU together. Dave was eager to introduce his company to an Indian audience, as he has a deep love for India and often dreams of returning to live here and learn Hindi. He was particularly excited to speak about wetlands.

We arrived at BHU at 2:45 PM and had special guest seating. It was my first time sitting in the guest area, thanks to Dave. We waited for Dave’s turn to speak, but unfortunately, it never came. We stayed until 7:30 PM, but Dave was never called to the stage. We were disappointed by this oversight from such a prestigious university. We reached out to BHU officials, who apologized and promised to reschedule his speech for the next day at 10:00 AM. The following day, we arrived on time again but waited until 2:30 PM, only to find that Dave’s name was still not called.

Given that Dave had another scheduled speech at the Mehndiganj Water Conference at 3:00 PM, we decided to leave BHU and head to Mehndiganj. Although we arrived 30 minutes late, Dave was able to deliver his speech there.Dave continued to try and secure an opportunity to speak at BHU, contacting the officials once more, but they were unable to provide a satisfactory response. Since the conference was only three days long, Dave never got the chance to speak at BHU.

Conference on Water Rights, Mehdiganj, Varanasi

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A conference on water rights was held in Mehndiganj from March 28th to 30th, 2008. I was invited by Nandlal to attend, and I was thrilled to learn that Sandeep Pandey and Medha Patekar would also be speaking. Nandlal Master also mentioned that a girl from the U.S. wanted to attend the conference and interview local villagers about their issues with Coke. She needed a translator, which made me even more excited because it meant I had the chance to work with her! I arranged to meet her at Assi Ghat, where we had an extensive discussion about the Coke issue in Mehndiganj.

After our conversation, I invited her to my home, where I showed her various documents related to the Coke controversies in Mehndiganj, Plachimada, and Kaladera. Impressed by my knowledge and assistance, she offered me a job as her translator. She was a PhD student in history at a prominent university in the U.S., though she requested that I not mention the name of her institution. She was friendly, well-educated, and deeply interested in the history of Coca-Cola in India. She was staying at a BHU hostel arranged by her university, but she found it inconvenient due to the lack of internet access in her room.

She had to walk 10-15 minutes each time she needed to use the internet. When she saw that my guest house had internet in all the rooms and a biologist staying in the next room—whose expertise could be useful for her research on groundwater depletion—she decided to move to my place. During the conference in Mehndiganj, I assisted her with translation as we interviewed numerous people, including social workers from Kaladera. I’ve chosen not to mention her name in this post as she experienced sexual harassment during her work and preferred to remain anonymous. If you want to learn more about her experience, please refer to the linked post.

Hindi Classes Varanasi

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A 61-year-old scientist named Dave from Fresno, USA, came to stay at my guest house for a month. He wanted to learn Hindi with Bhasha Bharti, as he had developed a strong passion for the language. Dave had spent about three years in Madhya Pradesh, India, working for the US Peace Corps in the 1960s. His Hindi was quite impressive, far surpassing the skills of many who take Hindi classes for months. He had scheduled his classes from the US, confident that there would be a suitable instructor available in Varanasi. However, upon arriving in Varanasi, Dave received a message from Bhasha Bharti stating that his classes had been canceled.

He wrote to them asking for an explanation but never received a reply. We visited Bhasha Bharti together to request that they accommodate Dave, but they showed no interest. Dave was disheartened, unsure of how to spend the next month in India. Eventually, he decided to revisit the village where he had previously worked with the US Peace Corps. Meanwhile, I inquired about other Hindi classes in Varanasi and discovered a professor named Prof. Virendra Singh, who teaches Hindi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

We approached him to see if he could provide lessons for Dave. Professor Singh was very accommodating and agreed to teach Dave for one hour each day. Although Dave had hoped for at least 4 or 5 hours of instruction daily, Mr. Singh was unable to commit more time due to his existing obligations with students from Wisconsin University. Nonetheless, it was better than nothing. I was relieved that Dave found a professor. I asked Dave about Professor Singh’s teaching abilities, and he praised him highly, saying that Singh was the best Hindi professor he had ever encountered. I was also very impressed with Professor Singh.

Financial Times article on Untouchables

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I worked with Mr. Jo Johnson, the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Financial Times, as a local assistant and translator. He was accompanied by a photographer named Tom Pietrasik. They were in search of 24-year-olds, particularly from the Musahar community. The age of 24 was significant because it is the typical age when Indians enter professional life. The Mushahars were of particular interest due to their status as untouchables in rural India. They survive by collecting long pepper leaves (Pipal), making bowls from them, and selling them in the market.

The Musahar community near the Coke plant had also been affected by the issues caused by the plant, making them ideal subjects for their interviews. Joseph and Tom were scheduled to arrive at Taj Hotel, Varanasi, at 11 a.m., but their flight was delayed, so I had to wait for over two hours. I finally met them at 1 p.m., and we decided to head to Mehndiganj, as we were already running late. Mr. Nandlal Master, who leads the movement against Coca-Cola in Varanasi, was supposed to meet us but had to travel to Ballia for urgent work.

He arranged for Urmila Didi to accompany us to the Mushahar village and assist with the interviews. Our first stop was a village near Mehndiganj where we interviewed a 24-year-old man. We initially met him at his farm but decided to move the interview to his home for a better understanding of his livelihood. After the interview, Tom wanted to take photographs of him. He took several pictures at the home but also wanted to capture images at his workplace. Tom meticulously adjusted angles and backgrounds, which, though professional, made the interviewee feel uncomfortable.

He confided in me that he felt like he was being treated as a spectacle, but I managed to persuade him to cooperate with Tom and Joseph’s requests. Next, we visited a Mushahar community. Although we were looking for 24-year-olds, most people didn’t know their exact birthdates. Eventually, a family pointed us to a 24-year-old woman, whom we interviewed. Tom repeated his approach of taking numerous photos, which, once again, upset both the woman and the community. Despite this, we completed our interviews for the day and returned home.

The following day, I met Tom at Assi Ghat, and we did a boat ride from Assi Ghat to Manikarnika and back. Tom took many photos and asked me about the funeral process. After the boat ride, Tom went back to his hotel, and I returned home. Later, I met them again at Taj Hotel, but they decided not to conduct any more interviews, as they were satisfied with the previous day’s work. Instead, they chose to explore the city. Tom wanted to stay an extra day in Varanasi to do more photography at the Ghats. Mr. Joseph wanted to visit the Ghats as well, so I accompanied him to Assi Ghat, where he chose to explore alone.

I left him there and went in search of a hotel for Tom. Due to the tourist season, most hotels were fully booked. After visiting more than 15 hotels, I finally found an available room near Shivala with air conditioning, and I booked it for Tom. The next day, I met Tom at his hotel at 4 a.m., and we spent over seven hours at Dashashwamedh Ghat. Tom took numerous photographs throughout the day. By the end of the day, Tom departed for Delhi, and my work with the Financial Times concluded.

Music classes in Varanasi

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I hosted a tenant from Montreal for a month at my guest house. His name was Will Eizlini, but my family gave him the Indian name “Willu.” His friend Bijay had reached out to me through a Lonely Planet Forum post where someone had recommended my name. Although I still don’t know who made the recommendation, I was delighted to have a long-term tenant. Willu was interested in learning Tabla while he was in Varanasi but had no leads on a teacher, so I suggested Pandit Shivnath Mishra’s school. Although the school is renowned for its Sitar instruction, they also offer Tabla classes.

Willu works as a web developer and can work from anywhere with an Internet connection. When he asked if I had Internet access, I realized that while I had Internet in my room, it wasn’t available in the guest rooms. I had always wanted to extend Internet access throughout the house, and Willu’s arrival presented the perfect opportunity. Initially, I considered buying a Wi-Fi modem, but my service provider advised that Wi-Fi wasn’t reliable in India. Instead, I purchased a router and ran cables to all the rooms. I’m grateful to Willu for prompting me to enhance the Internet setup in my home.

Willu was pleased to be able to work remotely for his Canadian company from my guest house. It was impressive to see him earning over CAD $30 per hour while traveling. His job seemed ideal for a traveler. Willu attended Tabla classes at Shivnath Mishra’s school for three days but was dissatisfied because his Tabla teacher didn’t speak English. While his teacher didn’t need to be fluent in English, Willu hoped for someone who could effectively communicate the lessons.

During this time, there was a live performance featuring Pandit Shivnath Mishra, his son Pandit Deobrat Mishra, and Fazal Qureshi (the brother of Zakir Hussain) at Diamond Hotel, Varanasi. I was invited by Pandit Deobrat Mishra, but Willu had to pay Rs. 500 to attend. The show was spectacular, and I was particularly impressed by Fazal Qureshi’s extraordinary speed on the Tabla. Although the Sitar performance didn’t captivate me, the Tabla was mesmerizing; I had never seen anyone play with such speed before.

At the event, Willu met several Canadians who were also studying Tabla in Varanasi. They recommended Mr. Pravin Uddhav, a professor of Indian classical music at BHU (Benares Hindu University). Following their advice, we visited Mr. Uddhav’s residence on the BHU campus the next day. When Willu returned home, he was thrilled to have finally found a suitable teacher. He praised Pravin Uddhav as an excellent Tabla player with good English skills that facilitated understanding.

Willu decided to discontinue his classes with Pandit Deobrat Mishra and studied with Pravin Uddhav for the remainder of his stay. After a month in Varanasi, Willu flew to Chennai to attend a live performance by another instrument teacher (whose name I don’t recall). Despite wanting to stay longer in Varanasi, he left to catch this performance.

Pollution in Ganga

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I started writing this post after hearing a news report on India TV news channel about the alarming prediction that the Ganga could dry up within the next 30 years. It leaves me wondering what is happening to us as a nation. Are we simply waiting for this vital river to become a relic of the past? The Ganga holds immense sacred significance for Hindus and world in general. Only someone deeply devoted to this river can truly understand its spiritual importance, and even then, words may fall short. Every day, more than 50,000 people bathe in the Ganga in Varanasi.

Pilgrims from all over India come to Varanasi to take a sacred dip. Yet, the water that was once revered for its purity is now severely polluted. While the Ganga remains sacred in a spiritual sense, the quality of its water has deteriorated significantly. My own mother, a deeply religious woman, has stopped bathing in the river. She still visits the Ganga and touches its waters, but she no longer drinks it. Hindus traditionally use Ganga water to bathe their deities, believing it to be the purest water on earth, but my mother has even stopped bringing Ganga water to our home temple.

When I discuss this issue with others, the common response is that the government and certain NGOs, tasked with water purification programs, are to blame for the Ganga’s current state. I frequently walk along the ghats of Varanasi and watch people bathing in the river. While I have also bathed in the Ganga, I can no longer bring myself to do so. The water is now murky and black. As a tour guide, I often take foreigners on boat rides. At Shivala Ghat, one can observe a small sewage discharge, with the water near it thick and foamy.

Shivala Ghat is not the only location where sewage mixes with the river. There are more than seven major discharge points and countless smaller ones. We have the resources and technology to clean this river—not only the Ganga but all our rivers. We are investing heavily in projects like the Commonwealth Games, infrastructure development, and special economic zones. We have modern subways and advanced facilities. Cleaning the Ganga should not be beyond our capability. Yet, it seems we are falling short. I am left questioning what our government is doing and why this critical issue remains unresolved.

I sleep when I die

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An American retired Marine officer stayed at my guest house for a week. He had contacted me through Craigslist three months before his arrival in Varanasi. He was in the process of writing a novel and wanted to spend a year in India, but this visit was just a scouting trip to find a potential place to stay in the future. I was thrilled to host him, intrigued by his background and eager to learn more about his experiences as a Marine. I was hired for two days as his tour guide, and I took him around Benares. He quickly fell in love with the city, finding it reminiscent of his childhood in New York.

He noted that New York also had yellow streetlights about 60-65 years ago, similar to those in Benares today. After my tour duties were complete, he began exploring the city on his own. Despite being 70 years old, he was remarkably energetic. I remember one instance when I found him sleeping, and he told me, “I sleep when I die.” It’s a quote I’ll never forget. However, he had a bit of trouble with the local cuisine. He began indulging in street food, which unfortunately made him quite ill.

On one occasion, he ate over a kilogram of yogurt and 12 bananas at once, leading to severe sickness. His blood pressure and sugar levels soared, and he developed a cough and cold. I had to take him to a doctor, who attributed his condition to the excessive yogurt and bananas. By the end of the week, he left Benares, which was a relief for me. Despite the health scare, it was a memorable experience hosting such an interesting guest.

Indian Salary

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An American contacted me to help book his train ticket from Varanasi to Agra. He had tried to buy the ticket online but found it too complicated. He suggested meeting for dinner in Varanasi, and we arranged to meet at his hotel near Assi Ghat. His hotel was quite nice. When I arrived, I noticed a 50-year-old man talking to two Western women. He was explaining that he couldn’t find a train ticket and had contacted someone in Varanasi, offering dinner in exchange for help with his booking. I realized he was referring to me and approached him, confirming that he was Christopher.

I think he initially believed I had helped him with the ticket in exchange for a meal at a nice restaurant, which seemed to be his impression. Although he was relieved to have his ticket, he then asked which restaurant I wanted to dine at. I hadn’t considered his offer seriously, as I assumed he just wanted to chat. I generally prefer not to eat out, so I declined his offer. Christopher mentioned that he had informed his hotel that he wouldn’t be eating there, so they wouldn’t prepare his meal. To resolve this, I took him to a restaurant where he had his dinner. During our meal, we discussed the Coca-Cola issue again.

He remained unconvinced that Coke was at fault, believing instead that the problems lay with the people and the Indian government. The next day, Christopher asked if I would be his tour guide. I accepted the offer, and we spent the day exploring various temples and wandering around the city. He was particularly interested in meeting people, so I arranged for him to meet Lali Baba. Although I believe he was satisfied with my services, the payment was surprisingly low. Despite being one of the wealthiest people I had worked with—he lived in an upper East Side Manhattan apartment where the average salary is $320,000 per year—he paid me only $10 for a full day of work.

I didn’t see the money until later, and when I did, it turned out to be just $10. It reminded me of what Lane had said: “You don’t need to be rich to spend and poor to save money.” It was quite a humorous moment.

New York girls tour Varanasi

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I had the pleasure of working with two American girls, Maria and Olena, as their tour guide in Varanasi. They contacted me through my apartment listing on Craigslist. This was my first time arranging a tour, and I was thrilled because I had always wanted to work in the tourism sector. Both Maria and Olena were from New York—Maria was studying Public Relations at New York University, and Olena was pursuing a law degree. They were very interested in experiencing real Indian life, so I arranged for them to stay at my place. With only two days to explore Benares, I wanted to make the most of their time.

We started their tour as soon as they arrived, heading first to BHU (Banaras Hindu University). After a brief rest at home, we visited the Dashashwamedh Ghat for the evening Aarti. They were captivated by the Aarti and impressed by the dedication of Hindus who spend over an hour daily praying to the Ganges. Despite their amazement, they understood that to non-Hindus, Ganga is just a river. Afterward, we visited the Bull Shop, which turned out to be one of their favorite experiences. The next morning, we embarked on a boat ride. Following the ride, we went to Sarnath, but unfortunately, the Buddha Temple was closed by the time we arrived.

However, Maria particularly enjoyed the Sarnath Museum. After Sarnath, we visited Lali Baba, which was a highlight as always. We spent almost an hour there, watching him wear his 350 necklaces, play with skulls, and perform puja. Our day continued with visits to the Kina Ram Monastery, Tulsi Manas Temple, and Sankat Mochan Temple (the Monkey Temple). At dinner, Maria and Olena asked me about Hijras, which was an unusual topic for me to discuss with them. We spent nearly an hour exploring this subject. Both Maria and Olena were keen on Indian cuisine, so I invited them to spend some time in my kitchen with my wife.

They even cooked pasta with Parmesan cheese, which was a delight for them, and I was pleased to see the cheese being used in Benares. Overall, arranging this tour was an amazing experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to do it again. After their time in Benares, Maria and Olena went to Goa to celebrate the New Year.